Vehicle spring-tire.



E. M. CONRAD.

VEHICLE SPRING TIRE.

APPLICATION man OCT-27.1913.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

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' VEHICLE SPRING TIRE.

1 APPLICATION FILED OCT-27,1913.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

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VEHICLE SPRING-TIRE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedFeb. 22, 1916.

Application filed October 27, 1913. Serial No. 797,475.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EZRA M. CONRAP, a citizen of the. United States,residing at Seville, in the county of Medina and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle Spring-Tires, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My-invention relates to an improvement to uncoil to a diameter limitedonly by ex-.

pansion of the casing so that the latter will act as the yielding treadto cushlon ars and jolts under spring action instead of a1r action.

A further novel feature of the invention consists in means for operatingthe device which is connected with the ends of the spring coil so as tocoil the spring toa re-' duced diameter for insertion into the casing.

Further features and objects of the invention will be more fullydescribed in connection with the accompanying drawings and will be moreparticularly pointed out and ascertained in and by the appended claims.In the drawings :Figure 1 is a side View of a tire casing of the dividedtype showing a portion broken away to illustrate the'application of myinvention thereto. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view of the coil spring endsshowing a device connected with the coil spring ends and the mechanismfor operating said device to coil the spring to a re duced diameter.Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a sectionalview on line 44 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5-5 ofFig. 3. Fig. 6 is a perspective view ofa coil end connecting element.Fig. 7 is a perspective view of another coil end connecting element.Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a part of the coil end connectingelement shown in Fig. 6.

Like characters of reference designate similar parts throughout thedifferent figures of the drawings.

As illustrated. 1 designates a tire casing of any approved divided typeand 2 designates a coil spring disposed therein while 2' designates awheel rim on which the inner face of the coil spring is adapted to rest.

I prefer to'use a coil spring formed of a fiat resilient strip, or atleast a strip which presents flat surfaces, as indicated at 3, forengagement with the inner face of the easing, it being understood thatthe term fiat faces is used in connection with the faces 3 extendingsubstantially transversely of the direction of coil of the strip.

First, referring to the device for connection with the adjacent terminalends of the coil spring, adesignatesone coil end connecting member whichis provided with a reduced hub 5 having a passage 6 therein extendingradially therethrough. Said member 1 is provided with an enlarged base 7having a flange 8 projecting therefrom; On the base 7 I mount a gearwheel 9, which is annually recessed or shouldered,v as indicated at 10,and which may be secured on the enlarged base 7 by means such as screws11,

as clearly indicated in Fig; 5. A couplin head 12 is connected inabutting relation with the base 7 by a coupling. ring 13 which latterfunctions as the remaining coil end connecting member and which isprovidedwith radially disposed openings or slots 14; through which thecoil end is projected: The coupling head 12 may be provided with asimilar opening 14 for registry with the openings 14. The coupling ring13 is provided with a flange 15 for embracing the flange 8 whereby themember 4 may be coupled in rotative connection with the member 13 andits head 12. The member 13 may be secured to the head 12 by means suchas screws 16, as clearly shown inv Fig. 5. The coupling ring 13 and thehead 12, which constitute one spring end member or structure, may beprovided with registering openings 17 and 18 which will function as.retaining openings to hold one'part of the structure non-rotatable whilethe other part I is being rotated so as to coil the spring, in

moved into engagement with the teeth of gear 9 to lock the rotatablecoil end structure. It will be understood that there will be amplefriction to hold the pawl in engagement with. the gear wheel 9 when thesame is locked.

I will next, refer to the mechanism where by "one of the coil endconnecting members is retained against movement and whereby movement isimparted to the other coil end connecting members so as to coil thespring to a reduced diameter. As shown, such mechanism may comprise asupport 21 provided on one end with a' suitable handle 22 and on theother end with a shank 23, which latter is adapted to be inserted intothe openings 18 and 17, as shown in Fig. 4, to hold the retaining-or oneof the end coupling members against movement. A gear 24 is mounted onsaid support 21 by means of a spindle 25and is adapted to mesh with gear9. An operating gear 26 is mounted on said support by means of a spindle27 and is arranged to mesh with gear 24:. The operating gear 26 isprovided with a handle 28 for rotation of the same.

It will be readily seen from the foregoing construction that when theretaining shank 23 is inserted in place as shown in Fig. 4, that one endof the coil spring will be ar rested against movement whereas the otherend, upon operation of the gear 26, will be turned so as to place thecoil spring under tension and. coil the same to a reduced diam.- eter.After the spring is placedin the casing and the casing has been securedupon. the rim, with the pawl 19 in suitable registry with an opening inthe rim, the pawl 19 can be retractedto the position shown in Fig. 2 soas to release the coil retaining def vice and permit the spring toun'coil to the fullest diameter permitted by expansion of the casing. Itwill of course be clear that after the spring has been coiled to areduced diameter and locked by the pawl 19, that the operatin be withrawn so as to permit the spring to be inserted into the casing. Afterthe spring has been inserted in the casing and released toexpand to itsfull diameter, the connecting device functions as a means for connectmechanism shown in Fig. 3 will ing the ends of the spring againstseparation.

While I have herein shown and described one specific form of myinvention, I do not wish to be limited thereto except for such.

named member, and a pawl connected with one member to engage withthesecond member to lock the members against independent rotation.

2. In a spring tire, a coil spring, a member secured to one end of thespring, a second member secured to the remaining end and rotatablyconnected with said first member, and a gear wheel carried by one of themembers for rotating the same to coil the spring in a reduced diameter.

3. Ina spring tire, a coil spring, a member secured to one end of thespring,'a second. member'secured to the remaining end and rotatablyconnected with said. first member, a gear wheel carried by one .of themembers and a pawl carried by the other member to engage with the teethofthe gear to lock the members against independent rotation.

4. In a spring tire, a coil spring, a flange member secured to one endof the spring, a

second member secured to the remaining end, and a coupling ring fastenedto the second member and having a flange for engagement with the flangeof the first-named member for rotatably connectin the members together,and .means carrie by one of said members for engagement :with the secondmember to lock the members against independent rotation. a

In testimony whereof I afix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EZRA M. CONRAD.

Witnesses:

C. H. Eenna, W. G. BRUMBAUGH.

